I’ve seen a lot of posts lately on street harassment and thought I’d add my two cents
I’m not going to address the ‘white girls get it too omg’ bullshit because they do, but it’s always different. I’m writing this as a woman of color who’s experienced street harassment more times than I can count.
First off, I think people need to realize that this isn’t just basic misogyny when it comes to women of color. It’s misogyny and whiteness showing both their ugly faces simultaneously. Because misogyny treats white women completely differently.
But whiteness tells US (WOC) some whole other shit, mainly two things:
1. Black and brown women are sexually undesirable (unless of course, they’re light)
2. Black and brown are always sexually availableand that combination of ideas is what’s really so dangerous about street harassment. Because if you believe both, then you believe that Black and brown women SHOULD BE HAPPY when you harass them on the street. You’re not even desirable, you should be fucking flattered. Men who perpetrate street harassment are under the impression that I owe them my time and that their harassment should be taken as a complement because I have brown skin. And that is what makes street harassment genuinely dangerous- the sense of entitlement to ME.
I had a guy tell me once when he scared the shit out of me by following me into a corner store (I was 15) because I freaked and didn’t give him my name, ‘Man I ain’t finna take this shit from no bitch.’
What he meant was, you’re brown. Be happy I just harassed you. Street harassment isn’t just misogyny at work- it’s whiteness telling men how to treat Black and brown women.
(via lipstick-feminists)
